A Father Like You
by Masquerade
Summary: A short series about Tidus growing up in Zanarkand, and Auron watching over him. If you're an Auron or a Tidus fan, you'll enjoy. *COMPLETED!*
1. Part 1

((All things Final Fantasy X are (c) SquareSoft))  
  
A Father Like You  
  
It had been one year since Jecht's disapearance from Zanarkand. All of the city was in mourning, fearing the worst. Jecht's wife was taking the blow the hardest, almost never leaving the house. Jecht's son, Tidus, didn't care that his father was probably dead and never coming home.  
  
In fact, the boy couldn't be happier.  
  
Supporters of Jecht would help out his wife however they could. They brought the groceries to her house, helped take Tidus to school, brought her the newspapers....whatever they could do to help out.  
  
In fact, everyone was so busy worrying about Jecht's disapearance..........  
  
.........hardly anyone noticed the arrival of a stranger in a red coat.  
  
*******************  
  
It was easy for Auron to find Jecht's house. Mourning supporters had put flowers, dolls, and blitzballs by the front gates. The house was more of a houseboat, with a boarding plank and a living space just over the water. Auron took a look around at the legendary sights of Zanarkand before crossing over the plank and to the front deck of the house.  
  
He immediately saw the boy sitting by the front door. The little boy with blond hair and cold blue eyes glared up at the man.  
  
"What do you want?!" the boy snapped.  
  
Auron paid it no mind.  
  
"Are you Tidus?" he asked softly.  
  
"Yeah, so what is it to ya?"  
  
"Is your mother home?"  
  
"That's a dumb question, of course she's home. She hasn't come out of the house since the old man died."  
  
Auron adjusted his sunglasses to look at the boy with his one good eye.  
  
"You shouldn't speak so negitively about your father."  
  
"Who are you, anyway?!" Tidus demanded, getting up.  
  
"My name is Auron. I'm.......an old friend."  
  
Tidus curled his lip up.  
  
"I can tell you're not from around here. Besides, I've never seen you before in my life How could you be an old friend?!"  
  
"Can I talk to your mother?"  
  
Tidus sat cross-legged in front of the door, and crossed his arms defiantly.  
  
"If it's about the old man, she doesn't want to hear it! Go away!"  
  
Auron pushed his sunglasses back up.  
  
"Can I talk to your mother PLEASE?"  
  
"I said no! Go away!"  
  
Slowly, the door behind Tidus opened. Auron could see a young woman peeking from behind it. Auron stepped around Tidus to the door.  
  
"Are you Jecht's wife? I must speak to you." He said quietly. "May I come in?"  
  
The woman hesitated, then nodded.  
  
"Yes, of course, sir." she pushed the door open wider, slightly shoving Tidus aside. "Tidus, honey, could you please move aside?"  
  
"Alright." Tidus groaned, getting up. His mother opened the door and let Auron in. She closed the door behind them. Tidus growled at the door, picking up his blitzball.  
  
"Who does he think he is, anyway?! Grrrrr...."  
  
***************  
  
Tidus patiently waited until the door opened again, and Auron walked out. Auron was heading off, and walking across the plank to leave. Tidus threw the blitzball, hitting Auron in the head.  
  
THUNK!  
  
Auron stopped walking instantly, but made no sign or signal that he was in any pain.  
  
"You made her cry, didn't you?!" Tidus shouted at him. "She hates it when people talk about the old man in front of her! It always makes her cry! I know you made her cry, didn't you, you big jerk?!"  
  
Auron couldn't remember smiling so big in his life.  
  
"You......feel you must protect your mother, don't you, Tidus?"  
  
Tidus frowned at the man.  
  
"I have to. Who else will?! And what's it to ya?!"  
  
Auron turned to look at Tidus.  
  
"Well, that's good. She does need someone to protect her. But tell me, Tidus, who will protect you?"  
  
Tidus stamped his foot in frustration.  
  
"I don't need to be protected by anyone! I can protect myself!"  
  
"Is that so?" Auron chuckled.  
  
"Yeah! So what, you think you're going to protect me? Be my guardian or something?"  
  
Auron stopped smiling.  
  
"It was a promise I made......to an old friend. You probably don't care, do you?"  
  
Tidus shook his head.  
  
Auron just nodded.  
  
"I see. Well, I will be seeing you again, Tidus."  
  
Auron started to walk off. Tidus ran to the plank and yelled at him.  
  
"Not unless you want another thump upside the head, you crazy old cook! You stay away from my mom, you got that?!"  
  
Auron didn't answer as he walked off into the crowd. Tidus frowned after him, and walked back inside the house.  
  
His mother was sitting on the couch, looking at her hands, and smiling slightly.  
  
"Did he do anything to you, mom?" Tidus asked. His mother looked over at him.  
  
"He took a lot of weight off my shoulders." she answered. "I've never felt so relieved. He took a lot of stress away." She sat up. "But, he didn't give me his name."  
  
Tidus crossed his arms behind his head.  
  
"I think he said it was Auron....."  
  
******************  
  
A month went by, Tidus and Auron never spoke directly to each other. However, the boy couldn't help but notice that the man popped up wherever he went. The red coat turned up at Tidus's school, the blitzball stadium, the city square, the docks, outside the occasional night club.......almost wherever Tidus went. But the two never said anything to each other.  
  
Tidus tried to ignore him.......  
  
......but one day, he had enough.  
  
******************  
  
Tidus was at the stadium toll both, standing in line for tickets. The Duggies and the Eves were playing a game the next day, and Tidus wanted to be there. Besides, it was a bargain buy: buy two tickets, get a trading card of your favorite player FREE! He had to get a card of the Eves star player: Esla. Plus, he and his mom could finally do something together they both enjoyed.  
  
He was standing in line, just five people away from the booth. Waiting in a line that went all the way to the city square for three hours was making him impatient. He was anxious to get his hands on those tickets, and that card. The tension was thick enough to cut through with a knife. Soon, he would get his tickets and his card, and be sure to get mom an hour before the game started.  
  
Tidus looked around the random crowds for something to amuse himself while he stood in line........  
  
........then, a familiar red coat caught his eye.  
  
Auron was lounging by the stadium entrance, looking at Tidus. When he saw the boy was glaring at him, Auron looked away.  
  
Tidus suddenly lost his temper. This was going on for too long.......  
  
"AURON! GET OVER HERE!"  
  
The old man rested his gloved hand on the jug at his side, and walked over to the boy.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Why do you keep following me?! Are you stalking me or something?!"  
  
"Hmph." Auron grunted. "How am I supposed to guard you if I'm not there to protect you?! You tell me that."  
  
"I told you, I don't need protection, old man!" Tidus snapped. "I don't need someone following me around either! And you better not be thinking of doing anything fishy to my mom, or else!"  
  
Tidus always let that threat sit, and no one ever challenged it.  
  
Until......  
  
"Or else what?"  
  
"Or else........or else......." Tidus did try to think, but he finally found something fitting. "Or else I'll call the cops! Stalking people is a crime, you know!"  
  
"I'm not stalking anyone." Auron answered. "I had your mother's permission to watch you. She was very happy to give me that permission, said she could worry less about you getting in trouble."  
  
"I don't get in trouble." Tidus growled.  
  
Auron just chuckled.  
  
"My mistake, then."  
  
"Look, what do you want with us?! Just say what you have to and go! I'll miss my place in line!"  
  
Auron looked past the rim of his sunglasses at Tidus.  
  
"I just want to keep a promise to a dear friend. That's all you need to know."  
  
"And then you'll leave?!"  
  
Auron chuckled again.  
  
"Well, you could say that I will be here a while."  
  
Tidus groaned.  
  
"Not too long, I hope. 'Cause the last thing I want to see is you making mom cry!"  
  
"That won't happen. I promise."  
  
"Hmph." Tidus snorted, getting back in line. Suddenly, he was pushed out of the line.  
  
"Hey!" a girl in line barked. "No cuts!"  
  
"I'm not cutting!" Tidus insisted. "This is my spot!"  
  
"You got out of line." the girl argued. "You don't have a spot anymore. Get in the back of the line."  
  
Tidus's eyes almost popped out of his head. Three whole hours in a line stretching for miles for nothing! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!  
  
"My tickets!" Tidus cried. "My trading card! It's gone!" He turned to Auron angrily. "You'll pay for that, old man!"  
  
"Don't call me 'old man.' " Auron warned softly.  
  
"I stood in line all day for those tickets!" Tidus whined, tears streaming out of his eyes. "I've been waiting forever for a card! And now it's all gone because of you! Now I'll never get those tickets! They'll sell out by the time I get back here again!"  
  
Auron shook his head, reaching into his coat.  
  
"I was going to give you these later today," he sighed, pulling out two blitzball tickets and a trading card for Tidus to see. "I went though the trouble of getting them this morning. You seem ungreatful, so I guess I'll throw them away."  
  
"NO!" Tidus yelled, going right up to Auron. "I....uh.....well.....um......"  
  
"Hm?"  
  
"I'm........sorry for yelling at you." Tidus mumbled. "But.....don't go following me around everywhere, or I'll yell at you again."  
  
Auron smirked.  
  
"I'll respect your privacy." he agreed, handing the tickets to Tidus. He looked at the card before giving it to the boy. "I didn't know what players you liked, but I heard this Esla person is good."  
  
Tidus smiled as he took the card from Auron.  
  
"Were you living under a rock for the last thousand years?! Esla is one of the greatest!"  
  
He and Auron walked home, with Tidus babbling and chatting about all the great players and teams in Zanarkand. Auron listened on as he walked, not saying a word or commenting.  
  
This was going to be an interesting few years..........  
  
*****************  
  
Just as Tidus brought the tickets home to his mother, she told him she didn't want to go.  
  
"WHAT?!" Tidus exploded. "But mom........you have to go! This other ticket is just for you!"  
  
His mother smiled at him sadly.  
  
"I'm sorry, sweety. I just.......don't feel I can go tonight."  
  
"But you have to!" Tidus argued. "Mom, you can't just stay in the house for the rest of your life! You'll turn into dust without sunlight and fresh air!"  
  
She smiled slightly.  
  
"Thanks, honey."  
  
"Mom! Please, come, please! It's the Duggies and the Eves!"  
  
"Tidus......"  
  
There was a knock at their door. Tidus's mom groaned.  
  
"Who could it be?" she wondered softly.  
  
"Who is it?!" Tidus shouted at the door.  
  
"Tidus?" Auron's voice called from the other side. "Are you going to invite me in, or be rude and keep me out here?"  
  
Tidus scowled at the door before opening it.  
  
"Now what?!" he demaned at the man.  
  
"Just wondering if I could come in." Auron said, stepping past the boy. "I haven't sat down all day." He looked around, then took a seat on a couch opposite of Tidus's mom. She just looked up at him and looked away. Auron turned back to Tidus.  
  
"So, when is the game?"  
  
"Later tonight. Why?"  
  
"I thought I should ask."  
  
Tidus walked back into the room, and sat by his mother.  
  
"Well, mom and I are going to the game, so it's none of your business."  
  
Auron lounged in his seat, sighing.  
  
"I don't even get a thank you for those tickets. Are the people in Zanarkand always this rude?"  
  
Tidus's mom looked up at the man.  
  
"Did you......buy Tidus's tickets, sir?"  
  
"Yes." Auron nodded. "I bought them this morning."  
  
"Tidus, you should thank him." she prodded her son. Tidus huffed.  
  
"Thanks, I guess."  
  
Auron shook his head, but let it slide.  
  
"Perhaps I can house-sit for you both while you are out." he offered. "It's the least I can do."  
  
"You do too much for us." Tidus's mom smiled. "Please, you don't have to go out of your way......."  
  
"I feel I have to." Auron interrupted. "I understand that you're going through hard times, and I want to help as much as everyone else is doing." He then noticed that Tidus was glaring daggers at him. Auron just looked at him simply. "Is something wrong, Tidus?"  
  
"No." the boy insisted, behind clenched teeth.  
  
"You don't have to house-sit for us, sir." Tidus's mother insisted with a smile. "I'm not going. I'm staying home tonight."  
  
"Oh?"  
  
"No, you're not, mom!" Tidus insisted, shaking her arm with one hand. "You're coming tonight! You have to!"  
  
She shook her head, and turned to Auron again.  
  
"Can you go with him instead, sir?"  
  
"WHAT?!" Tidus shouted, jumping up to a sit. "No way! You can't be serious!"  
  
"I'll go." Auron accepted.  
  
"NO, YOU'RE NOT!" Tidus barked loudly. "YOU GO HOME!"  
  
Auron shook his head in annoyance while Tidus's mother grabbed her son's arm.  
  
"Tidus!" she scolded. "Don't raise your voice to him."  
  
"I don't like him!" Tidus argued. "There's something fishy about him!"  
  
"Tidus......please....."  
  
"You shouldn't argue with your mother, Tidus." Auron told the boy.  
  
"Hey, butt out, old man!"  
  
"Don't call me 'old man.' "  
  
"Tidus....." his mother tried to reason. "Auron isn't a bad man just because he's not from around here. He's a good, kind man who just wants to help us out."  
  
"How would you know?" Tidus tried to argue. "We haven't known him for that long."  
  
"Tidus......"  
  
"There's no reason to hate, or be afraid of, me, Tidus." Auron reasoned. "I intend to keep my promise, and that promise was to protect and watch over you."  
  
Tidus turned to Auron.  
  
"For how long?!"  
  
"Until you can protect yourself."  
  
Tidus stared at his shoes.  
  
"I can protect myself......."  
  
Auron stood up and headed for the door.  
  
"The blitzball game starts later tonight, doesn't it? We should get our seats early."  
  
Tidus continued to stare at his shoes, refusing to budge. His mother put a hand on his shoulder.  
  
"Tidus.......he's just trying to help....."  
  
Tidus sighed, then turned to his mom.  
  
"Will you be okay by yourself?"  
  
She smiled and gave him a hug.  
  
"Yes. I'll be fine. Now, go with Mr. Auron and be good."  
  
Tidus groaned and followed Auron out the door to the stadium.  
  
**********************  
  
Of course, it was a good game. The trick was ignoring Auron, and Tidus found that the game was much more enjoyable to watch. He cheered on the Eves while Auron just sat quietly in his seat, watching the game, and smiling to himself.  
  
'........the Zanarkand stadium.......just like how you said it would be, old friend........  
  
'.......all lit up at night, the seats are always full........  
  
'.......I forget the name of your team. Zanarkand Aides? Zanarkand Maids?.........  
  
'.......No, wait......the Zanarkand Abes...........that was it.........  
  
'.........I wish you could be here.......and show me more of Zanarkand.......  
  
'........Jecht......'  
  
**********************  
  
After the game, Tidus and Auron walked home. Tidus was in a better mood, and rather hyperactive over the game.  
  
"When I grow up," Tidus said among his ramblings to Auron, "I'm going to be a blitzball player too! I'll be famous in all of Zanarkand!"  
  
"Like your father?" Auron asked.  
  
Tidus frowned.  
  
"No way........ I'll be better than him! A lot better!"  
  
"What team would you play for?"  
  
Tidus thought about that one.  
  
"I think it's a tie between the Zoros and the Seraphs. They're the best in the city."  
  
"What about the Abes?" Auron asked. "Is that team good?"  
  
Tidus scowled.  
  
"Why are you bringing up my old man?! He's dead, you got that?!"  
  
"Yes."  
  
Tidus put his hands behind his head, and looked at an empty soda can sitting as litter on the road. He also spied a trash bin nearby.  
  
"Jecht is a big 'has-been.' " Tidus said. "There's nothing outstanding about him at all. He's just a load of hooey!" He kicked at the can, and it flung in the air and landed right in the bin perfectly. As Auron raised an eyebrow at the feat, someone overhearing the conversation walked up to the boy.  
  
"Hey, you don't badmouth Jecht like that!" the man said. "He was the greatest blitzball player that ever lived!"  
  
"He was not!" Tidus insisted. "Kiokt of the Duggies is, and everyone knows it!"  
  
"That's a bloody insult!" the man growled. "You should respect your elders, kiddo!"  
  
Tidus balled his fists, ready for a fight. Auron grabbed one of his fists and pulled him along the street.  
  
"Tidus, aren't we going home?" he said quietly.  
  
Tidus sighed and nodded, letting Auron pull him away.  
  
"Hey, man!" the passerby called to Auron. "You need to teach your son some respect!"  
  
Auron turned to the man, looking at him through one good eye.  
  
"He's not my son." he answered. "Yet, I'm doing the best I can."  
  
He kept walking on, pulling Tidus to the side of him.  
  
"What did you mean by that?!" Tidus demanded.  
  
Auron didn't answer, and just kept walking.  
  
'........I wish you were here to help me.........  
  
'........Jecht.......'  
  
TO BE CONTINUED 


	2. Part 2

((Author's Note: Lots of blitzball in this section, so if you don't like or aren't familiar with the game, sorry. I'm writing this story as though everyone knows who everyone is, and how the FFX world works. Also, the team known as the Ketshin.....that's the plural for Ketshi. So, it's just like saying Abes, Fangs, or whatever team name. Just to make sure I didn't confuse anyone futher on in the story. Thanks and enjoy!))  
  
A Father Like You (cont.)  
  
Tidus was seven when his father disapeared.  
  
Tidus was eight when Auron appeared.  
  
Tidus is now elevin years old.  
  
Last year, he joined his school blitzball team. The school was a memorial school, dedicated to one of the contracters of the city of Zanarkand: Herdero Junior High. The team he played for was the Herdero Caits. He was rather well known in the team as the left fielder. In fact, when he played defense, no opposing team player could get past him.  
  
Tidus felt he was born to play blitzball.  
  
Auron never told the boy, but Tidus had his full support in the game.  
  
*********************  
  
Auron sat next to the school entrance. He could see students of all grades and classes leaving for the day. His one eye scanned the crouds and uniformed bodies for Tidus, but didn't see him.  
  
'He's never late. Where is he?'  
  
Auron waited until all the students were gone. Tidus was nowhere in sight. Something was wrong. He got up and headed for the building.  
  
Walking through the halls, he quickly found one of Tidus's teachers. The teacher had her bags hanging at her sides, heading for the door to leave.  
  
"Where is Tidus?" he asked.  
  
"I think he's in room 770C." the teacher answered, pointing behind her. "That's his last class."  
  
"Thank you, miss."  
  
He walked past her, looking at the room numbers until he came to the room. He stood outside the door, looking in. Tidus was sitting at one of the front desks, other boys were sitting in the back and chuckling to each other. A teacher in the front of the room noticed Auron, and walked to him.  
  
"Can I help you, sir?" the teacher asked with a gruff voice. It was a man exactly as tall as Auron with a big bushy beard and blue eyes. If it weren't for his Zanarkand styled clothing, Auron would have mistaken him for another person.......  
  
'Kinoc? I know it isn't.....but....'  
  
Auron cleared his throat and looked at the teacher.  
  
"I was looking for Tidus."  
  
Tidus heard his name, and looked up at the door. He saw Auron, and slumped in his seat in embarasment.  
  
"Oh, great....." he murmered.  
  
"He doesn't get out in five mintues." the teacher answered. "He's in detention."  
  
"Detention?" Auron asked.  
  
'What's this, this detention?'  
  
"Yeah." the teacher answered, having no clue that Auron was clueless. "See, he and those other boys were in a fight. I put them all in detention, cause fighting is against school rules."  
  
"I see." Auron nodded. "May I talk to Tidus a moment?"  
  
"Sure." the teacher agreed, stepping aside. Auron walked in and stood over Tidus. The boy sighed and pointed at the boys in the back.  
  
"They started it." he explained. "They thought I was staring at Jorno's girlfriend and came up behind me, and......"  
  
"I don't care who started it." Auron said firmly. "Did you fight back?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Why?"  
  
Tidus looked up at Auron with a sneer.  
  
"Cause I didn't want to get beaten up! You just don't sit there when these goons jump you, do you?"  
  
"No." Auron agreed. "But fighting is against the rules, even if it's fighting back."  
  
Tidus slammed his hands on the desk and stood up.  
  
"They mugged me for something I didn't do! What did you expect me to do?! HUH?!"  
  
"You shouldn't have fought. You should have ran away and told someone."  
  
"And look like a sissy?! No way! My popularity depends on it! I'm famous here, y'know!"  
  
"Best to run away and look like a coward, than to be badly injured and look like an idiot."  
  
"..........." Tidus glared at Auron hard. He couldn't think of a good enough responce to it. He just crossed his arms with a "hmph."  
  
"Some guardian you are." he mumbled. "You're always around, so how come you didn't save me from those bullies?"  
  
"You're not hurt, I guess there was no point in saving you."  
  
Tidus angrily rolled up his sleeve, and showed Auron his bare shoulder. There was a scratch that went from one end of his shoulder to the other. The boys in the back just snickered at him while Auron adjusted his sunglasses.  
  
"Tidus, you won't die from a scratch."  
  
"You call this a scratch?! This'll scar! Aren't you at least going to punnish those morons?!"  
  
"I'm not their mother, so why should I?! Now sit down and calm down."  
  
Tidus sat back down in his seat and put his feet up on the desk to lounge.  
  
"You aren't my mother either, Auron, so there's nothing you can do to me."  
  
"Maybe not." Auron replied. "We'll see what your REAL mother has to say about this, however."  
  
Tidus's face fell, and he slumped in shame. The boys in the back of the room laughed at him.  
  
"Mama's boy!" one of them shouted. Tidus sat back up immediatley.  
  
"Shaddup, Jorno!"  
  
"Hey, that's enough!" the teacher shouted. "All you punks quiet down!"  
  
All the boys fell silent, and Tidus looked back up at Auron.  
  
"See what I have to put up with around here?"  
  
"I pity you." Auron said sarcastically. "Time for you to go now, I suppose."  
  
"Cool, let's go." Tidus agreed, getting up and getting his backpack. The other boys started snickering at him. Tidus just flung an insulting hand at them, and trailed behind Auron out the door.  
  
***************  
  
"You could have at least waited until we left." Tidus whined to Auron on the walk back home. "You had to say all of that in front of them, didn't you?"  
  
"Did you cry?" Auron asked.  
  
Tidus ran in front of Auron with an angry face.  
  
"NO, I DIDN'T CRY! GIRLS CRY!"  
  
"Oh. I wasn't familiar with that one."  
  
Tidus growled and fell back until he was walking back by Auron's side.  
  
"You're not around as often as you used to be, Auron. Why's that? Did you finally get a job or something?"  
  
Auron didn't look at Tidus. Where Auron currently lived, what he did all day, and how he kept himself fed and healthy was not any of Tidus's business.  
  
"Not the kind of job you're thinking about. I'm just your guardian."  
  
"I mean......you used to be everywhere I went. Now I usually see you at home or out on the school blitzball field. Where do you go all day?"  
  
"Sight-seeing, sometimes." Auron answered. "It's been three years, and I still haven't seen all of Zanarkand."  
  
Tidus laughed.  
  
"Man, that's a fool's dream, Auron. Zanarkand is pratcially the size of a continent. You could spend your whole life here, and STILL not see all of Zanarkand."  
  
"..........."  
  
"Sheesh, where are you from, man?"  
  
"Far away."  
  
"Yeah, that's for sure." Tidus muttered, putting his hands behind his head. "So....uh.....what's it like where you're from?"  
  
That wasn't any of Tidus's business either. So, Auron changed the subject.  
  
"Tell me about the rest of your day. How was practice?"  
  
"Aw man.......how come you won't talk about yourself, Auron?"  
  
"How are your grades doing? Good? Bad?"  
  
Tidus sighed.  
  
"Good, I guess. I don't get my grades until next month. And I've got a game this weekend, can you drive me there?"  
  
"Sure." Auron nodded, frowning. Tidus's family did have a hydro car, and Auron did have a licence to drive one, but he didn't enjoy it. He'd prefer a chocobo anyday, but the animals haven't evolved in Zanarkand yet.  
  
"Cool. Well, how about this.......what's in that jug you're always carrying?"  
  
Auron put his hand on the white jug protectively.  
  
"Something little boys shouldn't be drinking."  
  
"Aw, c'mon, just one little sip?"  
  
"No, Tidus."  
  
"C'mon!"  
  
"I said no."  
  
"Hmph. You're no fun."  
  
"You're still in trouble for fighting today, Tidus."  
  
"Please don't tell mom. Please?"  
  
"Sorry."  
  
Tidus groaned.  
  
"Aw man....."  
  
*****************  
  
The next day, Tidus walked to school alone. Everything seemed peaceful enough until afternoon blitzball practice. Tidus was relaxing during the break when he felt water dumped onto his head. Tidus sputtered in surprise and sat up. He saw Jorno and his gang behind him, Jorno holding an empty bucket.  
  
Tidus narrowed his eyes at them.  
  
"I didn't look at your stupid girlfriend, Jorno. I don't even like girls." Tidus growled.  
  
"Don't call her stupid." Jorno insisted, handing the bucket to a flunky. "You're the one who's stupid."  
  
"You gonna pick another fight with me?"  
  
"Maybe." Jorno grinned. "I don't see your MOMMY or your DADDY around to protect you."  
  
Tidus sneered at them.  
  
"My old man is dead, everyone knows that. And if you're talking about Auron, I don't need him around to get out of trouble."  
  
"Whatever." Jorno shrugged off, cracking his knuckles. "You're still going to get it."  
  
Tidus balled his fists.  
  
"You started it, so don't blame me after I knock your brains out of your head."  
  
*******************  
  
Auron watched from a corner of the pool side, seeing Tidus getting attacked by his bullies again. He just shook his head, staying where he was.  
  
'Why does he do this?  
  
'He's worse than Jecht......'  
  
He just watched at Tidus was beaten up by the boys, until a gleam in the light caught his eye.....  
  
........one of the bullies had a knife!  
  
Auron stood up and ran.......  
  
********************  
  
Tidus could only try to bat their fists away as he felt pain in his sides, stomach and face. He was being punched at all sides, and crying.  
  
Suddenly, he felt a sharp stinging in his back, and yelled in pain. He felt it again and again in his sides, and hunched over. What were they doing?!  
  
Suddenly, it stopped. He heard Jorno yelping in surprise.  
  
"No one move!" he heard Auron shout. "All of you are staying right here!"  
  
Tidus raised his head, seeing Auron standing in front of him. He had one hand on Jorno's head, and the other pinning the bully's arms behind his back. The other four lackies were standing on Tidus's other side.  
  
"Explain." Auron demanded the boys. "Now."  
  
"Eh-eh-eh-explain what?!" Jorno cried. Auron grabbed the boy's other hand and held it up for all to see. It was clutching the knife, and was stained with blood.  
  
"That." Auron answered. "What were you doing with this?"  
  
"I.....I, uh....I...." Jorno stammered.  
  
Tidus couldn't believe his tearful eyes.  
  
"You tried to kill me!" the boy cried.  
  
"No! No, no, no......I....."  
  
"That's enough." Auron suggested. "I would have let you boys hit him as much as you wanted, but violence at this magnitude is unexceptable."  
  
"What?" one of the flunkies blinked.  
  
"Who are you, man?" another flunky asked. "You're not his dad, are you?"  
  
"No." Auron answered. "Jecht is. I'm Tidus's guardian."  
  
"We know that." a flunkie snorted.  
  
"Auron!" Tidus cried, holding his sides. "Help! I'm bleeding! It hurts!"  
  
Auron sighed, feeling rather helpless. He took the knife from Jorno, and let the boy go.  
  
"We're all walking to the school sick room." he insisted, walking to Tidus. "All five of you will have to show me where it is. Now start walking."  
  
As the bullies took lead, Auron picked up Tidus carefully, holding the boy's bleeding side tightly to help stop the bleeding.  
  
"We'll take you to a doctor, Tidus." Auron soothed. "You can stop crying now."  
  
*********************  
  
Tidus cried all the way home that day. The school doctor tended to the wounds, and suggested the boy be sent to a hospital. Auron carried Tidus all the way there, and called his mother from the building. Tidus cried himself to sleep on the hospital bed. He slept all the way home as Auron drove him home in the hydro car.  
  
As the months passed after that, Tidus had to think about Auron's words that day:  
  
.......I would have let you boys hit him as much as you wanted........  
  
He would have just sat there as Tidus got the tar kicked out of him. Why? Why would Auron do that? It wasn't until.....  
  
.......but violence at this magnitude is unexceptable........  
  
It would take another two years for Tidus to realize why Auron said those words that day.  
  
*********************  
  
It was the night of yet another junior high blitzball game. Tidus's school versus another school in his same area. Most of the crowd were students, parents, and random members of the comunity.  
  
To Tidus, this wasn't just "another game." This was the junior high homecoming game!  
  
And he had been voted Captain Cait, and his prize for winning the game was a kiss from his school's homecoming queen!  
  
Tidus was looking very foreword to winning; this year's queen was a beaut! Wavria was the prettiest cheerleader of the junior high, and she had a gillion guys begging to be her boyfriend. Tidus was one of them, after overcoming his hate for girls.  
  
Auron said he would come to the game, and his mom would be there too.  
  
Most of his community would be there to see him, and Tidus couldn't be any more excited.  
  
It was THE day.....HIS day.....  
  
Something told him it would be a day to remember.  
  
******************  
  
Auron and Tidus's mom sat together in the front bleachers. The sphere pool covered only five square miles, and was filled with water by electric lazers and held together with static.  
  
Auron found it curious. The sphere pool was a lot smaller than the one in Luca, not that he cared much. He found blitzball to be rather boring.  
  
But, if it was what Tidus loved....  
  
"Are you alright?" he asked Tidus's mother, turning to her. She nodded.  
  
"Yes, I'm fine." she answered. "It's just been so long."  
  
"I would have agreed with Tidus. Staying in the house for years like that isn't good for you."  
  
"I know." she moaned, staring at her hand. "When does the game start?"  
  
"In a few minutes, I think."  
  
The cheerleaders came out, doing routeins for their teams. Tidus's mom looked at them and smiled weakly.  
  
"Go, go, Ketshi go!" the Meriton Ketshin cheerleaders shouted, waving their arms and twirling lazer rope. "Go, go, give'em a show!"  
  
"Hey, hey, sic em, Caits!" the cheerleaders for Tidus's school also chanted, jumping and doing flips in mid air. "Hey, hey, make em ache!"  
  
Tidus's mom chuckled slightly.  
  
"I was a cheerleader for the Seraphs once." she told Auron. "That's how I met Jecht. He said that all the other girls were pretty, and were athletic, and were everything I wasn't. He said they were all the same, and he hated that. He saw me, and chose me to be the girl he wanted to marry, because I was different."  
  
Auron looked at her as she sniffed back a tear and smiled.  
  
"Jecht said......even though I wasn't pretty, and clutzy with my routeins, and too quiet to chant......I was beautiful to him. He chose me because of everything I wasn't.....but when we started dating, and we got to love each other, he loved me for who I was."  
  
"I know you miss him." Auron said. "And I know you will never take another husband, but you have to move on. For Tidus, and for yourself."  
  
"I know." she nodded, wiping away a tear. "It's just hard."  
  
Auron put his gloved hand on hers, gently squeezing.  
  
"I'll help you then."  
  
Tidus's mom lowered her head, and smiled. She didn't say it out loud, she just thanked him in her head.  
  
********************  
  
The game quickly went underway. The Meridon Ketshin were leading by three points, score 5-2. Tidus was getting frustrated that his team wasn't doing so well. He felt like smacking the goalie a few times, but that wouldn't have solved the problem. He thought about taking matters into his own hands.  
  
He signaled to the front fielder when there was a time out. The front fielder, Medio, swam to Tidus as the boy started using hand movements to convey a new strategy. Tidus motioned that he would make the next goal, so the ball should be passed immediately to him. The front fielder nodded, and motioned the same to the other players. Then, Tidus swam back to his position and waited for the ball to go back into play.  
  
"BLITZ OFF!" the referee shouted. The ball shot up in the air. Both front fielders jumped for it. The opposing team grabbed the ball and made a swim for the goal. Tidus was quick to catch him, and so was the front and right fielder. The opposing team member decided not to break through them, and keep dribbling for the goal.  
  
So, Tidus and the other two players tackled him at once. Tidus wasted no time getting the ball, and swiming off with it to the goal. He stopped aways from it, and quickly took a shot.  
  
The goalie didn't see it coming, and Tidus scored!  
  
"Score, 5-3!" the announcer called. "Way to go, Tidus!" The crowd on his side cheered also.  
  
Tidus did a boogie underwater in celebration, waving his hands to the audience. Things looked like they were going his way!  
  
******************  
  
Auron applauded Tidus's shot quietly, then continued to watch on. Yes, he was bored, but he wanted to come. Tidus's dream was to be a blitzer, and Auron respected that.  
  
'Like father, like son.........although Tidus wishes it wasn't that way.......  
  
'Was Jecht all that bad before he came to Spira?'  
  
A movement below the sphere pool caught his eye, and he stared intensely. Something had moved down in the ringside just below the sphere of water. No one else seemed to notice. He leaned his head back, and took a quick whiff of air. He caught a familiar scent in the air around him, and he glared ahead at nothing.  
  
He stood up and shuffled past others sitting by the bleachers.  
  
"Mr. Auron?" Tidus's mom wondered, seeing him walk away.  
  
"Something's wrong." was all Auron said as he walked to the isle, then ran down the steps.  
  
*********************  
  
"Score, tied 5-5!" the announcer cheered. "Ladies and gentlemen, Tidus is on fire tonight!"  
  
Tidus and his team mates were high-fiving and clutching arms in congratulations. One more shot and they could win the game. Tidus could feel Wavria's arms around him now. Of course, all the other players would get affectionate gestures from the other cheerleaders: hugs, kisses, maybe a going steady proposal........  
  
Tidus was grinning like a Cheshire Cat as we swam back to his spot on left field. One more goal and they would win.......  
  
Suddenly, the presure started to rise inside the sphere. Tidus noticed it right away, and looked around. He didn't see anything unusual, so he shrugged it off and concentrated on the game.  
  
Both front fielders took their positions and stared at the ball. They waited for it to launch eagerly. Only two minutes were left in the game, and it would all be over.  
  
The pressure dropped even further, and this time everyone noticed. All the players were looking around, trying to see what was happening. Tidus looked below him into the ring on the ground, and saw sparks of electricity.  
  
"BLITZ.....what?!" the announcer gasped. The sparks got bigger and bigger, then they struck the sphere! The water collapsed, and the players were dropped with it. All of them fell on the concrete below, some were knocked unconcious, others broke bones and screamed in pain. The audience started screaming, and lots of them fled the school stadium. Tidus's mother stood up in alarm.  
  
"TIDUS!" she shouted, then she ran for the ring, fearful for her son. "TIDUS, WHERE ARE YOU?!"  
  
*********************  
  
Tidus opened his eyes and found himself with a bad headache. He sat up and rubbed his head, then found himself face to face with a giant, brown scaled dragon.  
  
Fiend!  
  
Tidus screamed and got up to run. The dragon hissed at him and shot its neck out, grabbing the back of Tidus's shirt with its teeth. The boy was pulled back until he landed roughly on his rear.  
  
"HELP!"  
  
"TIDUS, DUCK!"  
  
The boy ducked his head and covered it with his arms. Suddenly, the teeth holding him was gone, the dragon roared in pain, then the sound of crying pyreflies filled his ears. Tidus looked up to see Auron standing over him in a cloud of drifting lights. Then, Tidus noticed the sword. Auron had a gigantic katana slung over his right shoulder.  
  
"Auron?"  
  
"Let's get you out of here." the man suggested calmly. "You're bleeding."  
  
"You don't have to tell me twice." Tidus agreed, getting up. He and Auron ran for the edge of the ring. Tidus heard something chasing them, and turned to see it. It was a blue lizard fiend with sharp, yellow teeth. Tidus screamed again.  
  
"AAAAAAA! AURON!"  
  
Auron suddenly stopped and swung around to face the lizard, flinging Tidus behind him with his left hand. Auron knew it was too quick for him to catch, but he could at least drive it away.  
  
"Keep going!" Auron shouted to Tidus, running for the fiend. As he swung his katana down, the lizard dodged and ran away. Tidus made it up to the edge of the ring, and swung over it to safety. He noticed that his team mates and the players from the other team had made it out too, either climbed out or were helped out by spectators.  
  
His mother finally found him and ran to him.  
  
"Tidus!" she cried, hugging him.  
  
"Mom!" Tidus cried back, crying into her shirt. "What's going on?!"  
  
"You're okay, honey! You're okay." She looked into the ring, and gasped. "Mr. Auron!"  
  
Tidus looked too, seeing Auron surrounded by fiends. There were ten of them, forming a ring around him.  
  
"Auron!" Tidus cried, worried about the man.  
  
"Get out of here!" Auron shouted to them. "Hurry!"  
  
Tidus and his mom froze, deciding whether to run for safety or stay and do what they could to help.  
  
Tidus just had to stay. He couldn't leave Auron here........  
  
Auron was a friend.......  
  
*******************  
  
Auron sneered at his situation, but wasn't worried. These fiends were easy kills........  
  
He decided using his Bushido would be the easiest solution.  
  
"Pray!" he shouted at the fiends. "NOW!"  
  
He positioned his katana down to the ground, and leaped high into the air. He concentrated his ki into his katana, giving it strength for the blow. When he landed, he struck the blade into the ground and the fiends around him were given a hard blow from the ground. Each and every one of them fell over dead, and disapeared into masses of pyreflies. Auron slung his katana over his shoulder, and picked up his jug. He turned as he took a few gulps from it, then spied Tidus and his mother.  
  
"Wouldn't listen?" he asked, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.  
  
Mother and child were stunned speachless.  
  
"Whoa...." Tidus gasped. "Awesome....."  
  
"Let's go." Auron suggested. "The police will be here any minute."  
  
He swung himself over the ring, and sheathed his sword on his back. Then, he hurried Tidus and his mother up the stairs and to the exits. Tidus was still in awe.  
  
'That was so cool.........that was amazing.......  
  
'How did he do that?!'  
  
*********************  
  
Tidus was bleeding at the back of his head, so the doctor gave him stitches and sent him home. His mother was emotionally upset, so Auron decided he should drive the hydro car home. Tidus didn't like this one bit. Not only did he look silly with a bandage wrapped around his head and over his hair to keep the stitches covered, but.......  
  
"What about my game?!" he whined in the back seat. "We were tied, nobody won! I got gyped of my kiss too!"  
  
His mother sighed, and looked at him. They were both in the back seat as Auron sat by himself in the drivers. They were headed home, and there was little traffic to get in their way.  
  
"Well, maybe you'll finish the game later." she comforted. "You did play very well, dear."  
  
That cheered Tidus up a little, and he smiled.  
  
"I was good, wasn't I? That Sphere Shot I did, I invented that myself. Wasn't it cool?"  
  
"Yes, it was fantastic." his mother smiled. "You'll be a famous blitzer one day."  
  
"Like his father." Auron interupted. Tidus glared at him.  
  
"No, not like my old man!" he snapped. "I'll never be like him in a million years!"  
  
"Tidus...." his mother gasped.  
  
"Na uh...." Tidus continued. "Not like him......."  
  
"That's fine." Auron sighed, slowing down in front of another hydro car. "Be however you want, Tidus. You just can't deny that your father is a respected man in Zanarkand."  
  
"I know, I know." Tidus moaned. "It's just..........I wish I had a better father." He sat up and looked at Auron from his seat. "I wish I had a father.......like you."  
  
Auron saw traffic ahead, and came to a stop in front of it. He took that still moment to turn his head and look at Tidus with his one eye.  
  
"No, you don't."  
  
"Yeah, I do! I really do, Auron!"  
  
The old man shook his head.  
  
"I consider myself a terrible father, and you know it."  
  
"Hey, don't argue with me, Auron. I mean it!"  
  
"Tidus?" his mother looked at her son and blinked. She was ignored as the two men argued.  
  
"And don't you argue with me." Auron insisted to the boy, raising his voice. "I don't want you to ever....EVER.....even THINK of replacing your father! Jecht was a great, honorable man who deserves every single praise he recieves! I don't know why you hate him, Tidus!"  
  
Tidus blinked in surprise. Auron never yelled at him before. Tidus lowered his head and crossed his arms.  
  
"You can't make me stop hating him, Auron."  
  
"............" the old man decided to be quiet as traffic started to move. Tidus's mother put her arms on her son's shoulders to comfort him. Suddenly, Tidus started crying, quickly trying to wipe away his tears. Auron ignored them and drove along the waterway back to their house, in complete silence.  
  
*************************  
  
Auron mysteriously disapeared the next morning. Tidus and his mother had no idea where he went. They had heard that the fiends had snuck into Zanarkand from the outside, and had damaged the sphere pool controls to look for food. Fortunantly, Auron had taken care of them, but the Zanarkand police were taking the credit.  
  
Tidus didn't care. He was more concerned about Auron for once.  
  
Two days later, the captain of the Caits came over to Tidus's house, asking if Tidus could hang out with them around town. Tidus agreed, saying goodbye to his mom, and the two boys wandered out to the big city.  
  
They stopped at a karaoke bar, ordering root beers and taking five gils worth of tokens for songs. They sat a table as other customers took to the machine and sang, good or bad.  
  
"So, what's this all about, Zax?" Tidus asked his captain. "I think this is more than just a song competition. I don't sing that well, you know."  
  
His captain smiled, and slicked back the bangs of his long black hair.  
  
"You're quick, Tidus." he congradualted. "Alright, I'll just say it. I'm going to high school this year, after I finish junior high. The Caits won't have a captain."  
  
"Yeah." Tidus frowned, taking a drink of his root beer. "It'll be a lot quieter without you around."  
  
"I want you to be captain."  
  
Tidus almost choked on his drink.  
  
"What?!"  
  
"You're good, Tidus." Zax sighed. "You're REALLY good. You're a valuable member to the team, and I think they'd like to have you as their captain next year."  
  
Tidus didn't know what to say. He stared into his glass a moment, then looked back up at Zax.  
  
"I dunno. I'm not a good leader........"  
  
"You're a great leader!"  
  
".........I'm more the guy who tells the leader what to do in a game. A second-in-command kinda guy."  
  
"No way, Tidus. You're a leader, alright. I saw how you handled that game. You're leader material."  
  
Tidus sighed, not knowing what to do. He looked back up at the stage, hearing someone singing rather well to a song Tidus didn't recognize.  
  
Zax shrugged to himself and shook his head.  
  
"Alright.....fine....fine, then. You can talk about it with the rest of the team at next practice, and we can vote on it."  
  
" 'Kay." Tidus agreed. When the singer stepped down from the stage, Zax stood up.  
  
"Let's go next."  
  
"Alrighty." Tidus nodded, getting up and stretching. "I mean it when I say I don't sing good."  
  
They got up to the stage and Tidus put some tokens in the karaoke machine. He looked at the song grid, and browsed the titles. One in particular stood out, so he punched in the code at the machine. He walked to a mike and waited for the music to load.  
  
"What did you enter?" Zax asked.  
  
"Nowhere Man." Tidus grinned. "A song for a friend of mine."  
  
Zax chuckled as the music started up. They both sang together, sounding rather good.  
  
***************  
  
He's a real nowhere man  
  
Living in his nowhere land  
  
Making all his nowhere plans  
  
For nobody  
  
Doesn't have a point of view  
  
Knows not where he's going to  
  
Isn't he a bit like you  
  
And me?  
  
Nowhere man, please listen  
  
You don't know what you're missin'  
  
Nowhere man, the world is at your command  
  
******************  
  
As Tidus paused during the small intermission, he saw a familiar red coat in the crowd. He was sitting at a table with a glass of iced sake in his gloved hand. He was looking up at Tidus and smiling slightly. Tidus froze until Zax poked him in the elbow and the two continued singing.  
  
*******************  
  
He's as blind as he can be  
  
Sees just what he wants to see  
  
Nowhere man, can you see me  
  
At all?  
  
Nowhere man, don't worry  
  
Take your time, don't hurry  
  
Live it all, till somebody else lends you a hand  
  
********************  
  
Auron hummed along with them, smiling. He took a drink of sake and leaned his head back a little.  
  
Next to the hymn, Jecht would sing this song when he was mad at Auron. It brought back some entertaining memories.  
  
Auron hated to admit it.......  
  
.....but he missed Jecht and Braska with all his heart.  
  
Until he returned to Spira..........  
  
........he was a nowhere man.  
  
**********************  
  
Doesn't have a point of view  
  
Knows not where he's going to  
  
Isn't he a bit like you  
  
And me?  
  
Nowhere man, please listen  
  
You don't know what you're missin'  
  
Nowhere man, the world is at your command  
  
He's a real nowhere man  
  
Sitting in his nowhere land  
  
Making all his nowhere plans  
  
For nobody  
  
Making all his nowhere plans for nobody.....  
  
Making all his nowhere plans for nobody.....  
  
*******************  
  
TO BE CONTINUED...... 


	3. Part 3

___________  
  
A Father Like You (cont.)  
  
___________  
  
Tidus was elevin when Auron saved him from bullies.  
  
Tidus was thirteen when Auron saved him from fiends in the school blitzball stadium.  
  
Tidus will turn sixteen years old tomorrow.  
  
If Tidus and Auron have grown closer, it didn't show. Even though he became popular among his schoolmates, Tidus never talked about Auron, or socialized much with the man. Auron did stop by the family house to visit, or help Tidus's mom with whatever she needed.  
  
Even though Tidus trusted Auron.......  
  
........he was getting a strange feeling there was something going on between Auron and his mother.......  
  
***************  
  
Auron knocked on the door of Tidus's house and waited. He knew Tidus wasn't home. The boy was at the high school, taking entrance exams.  
  
Auron knew this because he had dragged Tidus there by the hood of his shirt. The boy was kicking and screaming.  
  
"No! Auron! I don't wanna!"  
  
"Your mother said so, so stop whining."  
  
"I don't wanna go to high school! I don't have to! Leggo!"  
  
"Stop crying, and come on."  
  
"I'M NOT CRYING!"  
  
Auron chuckled to himself and shook his head. In some ways, the boy was still seven years old.  
  
The door opened and Tidus's mother peeked out.  
  
"Oh, Mr. Auron! Good, you're here." she quickly ushered him inside and closed the door behind him. "Is Tidus at the high school?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Good, good." she nodded, then she headed for the kitchen. "Have a seat, this will be a minute!"  
  
Auron blinked his one eye, then sat down on a couch. Tidus's mom was acting very strangely.  
  
"Is everything alright?" he called to the kitchen.  
  
"Just fine. Why?"  
  
"This isn't you. When were you so full of energy?"  
  
"Well....."  
  
She let that hang. Auron watched the kitchen doorway in worry until she walked out of it. She was carrying a small black box that fit in her hand. She stood next to Auron and handed it to him.  
  
"This is Tidus's birthday present, from you. Can you give this to him tomorrow?"  
  
Auron took the box and looked inside. Side by side were two small silver earrings. Each was molded in the shape of the Abes symbol. Auron's face softened at past memories concerning the symbol.  
  
'Jecht.....'  
  
He closed the box, and handed it back to Tidus's mother.  
  
"I'm sorry. I can't. You bought this, it should be your gift."  
  
She shook her head, and handed it back to Auron.  
  
"No. I want you to give it to him. You never gave Tidus a present before."  
  
He handed it back to her.  
  
"I said I can't."  
  
She handed it back to him.  
  
"But I want you to."  
  
He handed it back to her.  
  
"You can give it to him."  
  
She handed it back to him.  
  
"Mr. Auron, please...."  
  
He hesitated a moment. Then, just as he was about to hand back the box, the door swung right open!  
  
Tidus walked in, stretching his arms.  
  
"Aw, man! That was the pits! Hey, mom....." Just as he walked into the room, he saw Auron about to give his mom a small black box. Tidus froze.  
  
"A-a-a-Auron?"  
  
Auron turned his head angrily, but remained frozen.  
  
"Why aren't you at the high school?!"  
  
"Wh-wh-wh-wh-what's in that box?!" Tidus pointed at the small black box.  
  
"............." Tidus's mom lowered her head in shame.  
  
"Tidus...." Auron growled, but it was too late.  
  
The boy exploded.  
  
"THAT'S AN ENGAGEMENT RING, ISN'T IT?! AURON, YOU BASTARD!"  
  
Auron stood up.  
  
"Tidus!"  
  
The boy rolled up imaginary sleeves and put up his dukes.  
  
"What did I tell you about you and my mom getting too close?!"  
  
"Tidus, dear...." his mother tried to soothe, but it was no use.  
  
"I'll kick your ass, Auron!"  
  
Auron stayed where he was, sitting. The box stayed in his hand.  
  
"Tidus, sit down and we'll talk about this."  
  
Tidus ran to Auron, and pulled the man up to a stand by the collar of his jacket.  
  
"No way! You're going to get the beating of your life, you old letch! Let's go!"  
  
"Tidus, stop! Please!" his mother begged, about to cry. "Please don't fight."  
  
Tidus turned to his mom, and his face softened. He got frustrated, and just gripped Auron's jacket harder, not knowing what to do.  
  
Auron decided to do what was best. He opened the box, and tapped Tidus's shoulder.  
  
"Happy birthday, Tidus."  
  
Tidus looked in the box, and his eyes almost popped out of his head.  
  
*****************  
  
"Why didn't you just say it was for me?! Then, I wouldn't 've...."  
  
"Yes, you would have. If I just told you, you wouldn't have believed me."  
  
Tidus and Auron were headed back to the high school. Tidus explained that he did take the test, but he skedattled before he looked at his results. So, Auron decided to escort Tidus back to the high school to see the test results.  
  
"I woulda believed you. You know I trust you, Auron."  
  
"That's not what said five minutes ago."  
  
"Hey, hey......"  
  
"Tidus, I just want you to know........you don't have to worry about me marrying your mother. I can't get married."  
  
"Huh?" Tidus looked at Auron. "Why not?"  
  
"I made a vow of abstinance."  
  
"A vow of what? 'Absence?' "  
  
"............" Auron sighed, then corrected: "Abstinance." He didn't want to explain to Tidus EXACTLY what that meant, so he just said: "It means I can't get married."  
  
"Oh. Alright." Tidus accepted. Auron pulled the collar of his jacket futher up his face to hide his blush. That was slightly embarassing.  
  
They soon came to the high school. Possible students were gathered around a wall of sphere screens, pointing at them. The screens showed student names, and numbers under them. The names were the final test scores needed to get into high school.  
  
Auron looked up at the screens.  
  
"Where's yours?"  
  
Tidus looked too, scanning each of the many screens. A lot of them held numbers 70, 80, and a couple read 100. Some of them were very low numbers like 68 and 47, and Tidus snickered at them.  
  
He stopped snickering when he found his. He lowered his head in shame as Auron turned to him.  
  
"A score of 32?"  
  
"Oh man......."  
  
"You're taking the test again."  
  
"I can't." Tidus growled. "You fail the entrance exams and the high school will never accept you."  
  
"So, we go find another." Auron suggested.  
  
Tidus put his hands behind his head.  
  
"All the other high schools are out of the area. Sorry, Auron, but it looks like I'm not going to high scho.....HEY!"  
  
Auron had grabbed Tidus's hood again, and dragged the boy behind him as he walked off.  
  
"Where's a map?!" Auron growled.  
  
"Auron! Leggo! Not this again!"  
  
"Consider it punnishment for trying to start a fight with me."  
  
"AURON! I SAID I WAS SORRY! LEGGO!"  
  
"........"  
  
"I DON'T WANNA GO TO HIGH SCHOOL!"  
  
************************  
  
Tidus tried to fail as many tests as he could on purpose, but he accedently got a passing grade at Boggy High and was accepted. It was two counties away, so Auron also dragged Tidus to a driving school to get his licence. After Tidus reluctantly passed the hydro car driving test, Auron finally gave the kid a break.  
  
"Hungry?" he asked Tidus.  
  
"Uh-huh."  
  
"Let's go find somewhere to eat then. Lunch is on me."  
  
Tidus looked up at Auron in surprise.  
  
"Seriously?"  
  
"Hm." Auron nodded. "It's your birthday, isn't it?"  
  
Tidus smiled at Auron.  
  
"First you get hard on me going to high school and getting my licence, and now you're buying me lunch?"  
  
"You rather go home and starve?"  
  
"No, no, no, no, no!" Tidus shook his head. "I mean.......let's do lunch!"  
  
Auron nodded, then walked off in search of a place to eat. Tidus walked by his side, looking around. By the look at the signs, all that was around them were clothing and souvenier shops and bars.  
  
Suddenly, Aurons stopped in front of one of the bars, and put a hand on his sake jug.  
  
"Wait here." he told Tidus, then walked in. Tidus grinned at the old man's back.  
  
"Ooooh, grabbing some for the road, eh Auron?!" the boy crowed. "Hey, gimme a beer while you're in there!"  
  
"......." Auron ignored him and headed for the counter. Tidus sat on the sidewalk and waited. As he waited, he picked up on some conversation around him.  
  
"......is in high school now. I'm so proud of her......."  
  
".....weird people coming in from Bevelle give me the creeps....."  
  
"......the Abes are looking for a new player. Maybe I'll join......."  
  
".....you don't play blitzball, you dolt. 'Sides, no one can replace Jecht......"  
  
Tidus looked up at some of the people on the sidewalk. The topic of the Zanarkand Abes caught his interest immediately.  
  
Tidus wanted to join a professional blitz team. That was why he didn't want to go to high school. But, Auron was playing the part of the super-powered baby sitter, and he wouldn't allow it. What was the poor boy to do?  
  
Then, he saw Auron coming out of the bar, and walking towards him. Tidus stood up.  
  
"I think there's a cantina just down the corner...." Tidus said.  
  
"Fine." Auron accepted, and started walking. Tidus walked behind him.  
  
"Say, Auron......"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"I know you wanted me to go to high school and all that.............but, lemme explain why I didn't want to go to high school."  
  
"..........."  
  
"I'm really into blitzball, y'know. I've been really good, since I started playing in junior high. And I think I'm ready to play in the big leagues. My dream was to play a game at the Zanarkand stadium and win the Crystal Cup for my team. And that's what I want to do in life, play blitzball and realize my dream."  
  
".........."  
  
Tidus sighed, and put his hands behind his head with a frustrated look.  
  
"But, you rather I should go to high school and not play blitzball. Way to throw a kid's dream in the gutter, old ma......."  
  
"I didn't want you to go to high school. Your mother did."  
  
"Wha?" Tidus looked at Auron in surprise. Auron didn't look at the boy at all.  
  
"I rather you did what you wanted to do. I want you to play blitzball in the stadium."  
  
Tidus stopped walking completely as Auron continued. Tidus was dumbfounded. This wasn't like Auron at all.  
  
Tidus jogged up to him.  
  
"Alright, who are you and what have you done to Auron? And how long can you keep him?"  
  
Auron chuckled.  
  
"I want you to live a life, Tidus. However, high school will help you further on in life."  
  
Tidus's shoulder's slumped.  
  
"Okay, so there's still some of the old Auron in ya......"  
  
"So, let's compramise on this over lunch."  
  
"Huh? Compramise?"  
  
*********************  
  
The next day, Tidus stopped by the stadium. There was a line for tonight's game (Bakus VS .59ers), but Tidus wasn't there for that (the teams weren't so great). The Abes held meetings in their own personal locker rooms, and that was where Tidus was headed.  
  
He walked down the halls until he came to the door on the far left. There was a guard standing watch, and Tidus smiled at him.  
  
"Hey, man. Can I go in?"  
  
"Who're you?" the guard asked.  
  
"My names Tidus, and I wanted to try out for the Abes. They need another player, right?"  
  
"You got an appointment?"  
  
"Uh......no, but can I talk to Phillis?"  
  
"You know Phillis?"  
  
"Sure." Tidus insisted, walking up to the door. "Check this out." He knocked three times on the door, then pounded his fist twice on the wall. Then, he waited until the door opened.  
  
A head of spikey black hair poked from the opening, and looked at Tidus.  
  
"Izzat you, sport?"  
  
"Hey, uncle Phillie!" Tidus waved. The door fully opened and out walked a lanky man wearing a yellow shirt and black trousers: trademark of the Abes. The man, Phillis, was the team captain. Phillis walked to Tidus and patted his shoulders.  
  
"Wow, lookit you, kid! Lookit you! You're about as tall as I am!"  
  
"Good to see you again, uncle Phillie." Tidus laughed.  
  
The guard blinked.  
  
"Hey, Phillis, you know this kid?"  
  
"Sure do." the captain nodded. "This is Jecht's son."  
  
The guard went into a state of shock as he stared at Tidus. Tidus glared at him as Phillis led him into the locker room and closed the door. Tidus sat on a wall bench and leaned against it. Phillis sat next to him as he looked around. Inside the locker room were posters and banners of the Abes, their games, and their players. Jecht was on numerous posters, and Tidus ignored them. The other Abes players were also in the room, chatting, but Tidus didn't recognize any of them. All of them were new players who just reciently joined.  
  
"Hey," Phillis poked Tidus in the shoulder, "I know why you're here, sport."  
  
Tidus looked back at him.  
  
"I.....I wanna join the team."  
  
"Thought so." Phillis sighed. "Look, you just can't join because your dad and I were best friends."  
  
"I know."  
  
"You gotta prove yourself in a few exhibition matches. If I think you're good enough, I'll put you in a league. If you last a whole season as a good player, THEN you're officially in."  
  
"So.......basically I'm on the team now, right?"  
  
"Yeah, sure." Phillis nodded. "As a temperory player. I just wanna see if you're any good or not."  
  
"You bet!" Tidus cheered, standing up and throwing punches into open air. "I was in two teams during grade and junior high school, and I was the star player in both of them. I can't lose in a pros game, right?"  
  
"Eeeeh! Wrong!" Phillis buzzed. "You're playing with the big boys now, sport, so don't let your ego get the best of ya."  
  
"Fine." Tidus moaned. "Oh, and there's something I gotta tell you."  
  
"Shoot."  
  
"I start high school next week, so I dunno when I get to practice or play."  
  
"That's no prob. A lot of the players now are either in high school or college. We start games at 4 and practice is usually after 3."  
  
"Yes!" Tidus cheered. "More than enough time!"  
  
"But, you've got all this week to practice, right?" Phillis asked, also getting up.  
  
Tidus nodded. Phillis then patted his shoulder.  
  
"Welcome aboard, sport. C'mon over here, I'll introduce ya to the others. You'll like 'em."  
  
*********************  
  
Over the next month, Tidus worked hard to become the best blitzball player the Abes had ever seen. The new guys were pretty good too, and Tidus befriended all of them quickly. Unfortunantly, he had trouble trying to hit on the girls of the team. They shrugged him off, since he was a "kid."  
  
Tidus should have been working hard at his studies too, but he wasn't. He was getting bad grades in school, and he usually cut classes to play harder for his team. The school threatened to expell him unless he could pull his grades back up and show up to class.  
  
Phillis had a solution.  
  
"You're not playing in exhibition matches until I see some A's on your report card."  
  
"WHAT?!" Tidus exclaimed. "You've gotta be kidding!"  
  
"Nope." Phillis shook his head. "You've got too much blitzball on your mind, kid. You wanna end up being a jock like your dad?"  
  
Mentioning of his father made Tidus groan.  
  
"I never want to be like him......"  
  
"So, get studying. I'll make sure you stay off the team if you drop out, too."  
  
"Sheesh." Tidus moaned. "Who do you think you are? My old man?"  
  
"No, I'm your coach, and that's worse. When do those report cards come out?"  
  
"In two weeks."  
  
"Better get cracking then. And I don't want to see you back here unless you have that report in your hand, sport."  
  
"Yeah, yeah."  
  
Tidus walked off to his car sadly. Not surprisingly, Auron was waiting for him there. His sword was slung over his shoulder, almost casually. His free hand was resting on his sake bottle too. Tidus half-frowned at him.  
  
"What are you doing here?"  
  
"Wondering why you're back early from practice." Auron answered. "You usually stay late."  
  
"Phillis kicked me off." Tidus moaned, taking out his key card for the car. "He said I need good grades on my report card to play."  
  
"And you will get these grades, I hope."  
  
"Sheesh, what is this 'Everyone-Is-Tidus's-Father Day?!' " Tidus almost snapped, opening the car door.  
  
"Apologies." Auron sighed. "I was just assuming." He turned to Tidus as the boy got comfortable behind the wheel. "Can I get a ride?"  
  
"Where's your car?" Tidus glared.  
  
"I didn't drive it. I walked."  
  
The boy sighed.  
  
"Hop in."  
  
Auron put his sword in the back seat, and sat on the passanger side. Tidus started the car, and took off down the road back to his house.  
  
"Just perfect. It feels like everyone is trying to keep me from playing blitzball. Mom, Phillis, my teachers........you......"  
  
Auron looked at the boy.  
  
"I'm not stopping you."  
  
"You're the one who dragged me to every high school in town."  
  
"We made a compromise that day. You could play blitzball after school. Your mother and I noticed that you were lying about going to school several times."  
  
"What?!" Tidus turned to Auron. "I wasn't lyng! I went to school!"  
  
"Watch the road. And we knew you were lying. Your principal called on many occasions, saying you were there in the mornings, and absent just before your lunch hour."  
  
Tidus groaned.  
  
"C'mon, this isn't an after school thing. It's a job. I mean........this pays unbelievable money, too. And it's professional too. If I screw up here, I'll be the laughingstock of Zanarkand!"  
  
"Unbelievable." Auron sighed. "Your reputation is more important than your future."  
  
"That's not true!" Tidus argued. "I'm working hard to be the best blitzer out there!"  
  
Auron shook his head.  
  
"Hopeless......."  
  
*******************  
  
Two weeks felt like two years to Tidus. He studied non-stop for school. Since he couldn't go back to the stadium to practice and play exhibition matches, he had more time to study. In just two weeks, he built up his grades to a decient level. There was just one A, but he pulled a lot of his grades out of the hole.  
  
As he showed it to Phillis, he started sweating on his palms in nervousness.  
  
"Well, well......" Phillis whistled, impressed. "From C, D, and Fs to A's and C's. Very nice."  
  
"Can I play blitzball again?!" Tidus moaned. "I studied really hard."  
  
Phillis laughed.  
  
"I bet you did. Your brain probably turned to mush with all that cramming, huh?"  
  
Tidus nodded. Phillis smiled.  
  
"You can keep playing.......under one condition: you have to keep studying like that. You gotta do well in school too."  
  
"I'll try." Tidus sighed. "C'mon, lemme play already before I forget how."  
  
****************  
  
Two months later, Tidus was ready for his first real game. The league season had started, and Tidus was to play the back-left fielder. He was slightly disapointed, but what was the use of complaining. He knew what Phillis would say if he whined: "Oh, don't like it? Go warm the bench, I'll find someone else who'll like it."  
  
He hung out in the locker room before the game started. He had just put his uniform on and ran a hand through his hair. He was wearing his birthday earrings, and.........  
  
He flicked the necklace around his neck. It was an Abes symbol pendant, on a silver chain. It matched his earrings, so he thought 'what the heck.'  
  
He heard a knock on the door, and he jumped up to answer it. An Abes fangirl made an 'appointment' to get his autograph. He opened the door, smiling his widest.  
  
"Hey there, baby! One special Tidus autograph coming right u............" Blink blink. "Auron?"  
  
The old man chuckled to himself.  
  
"No thanks, big boy. I have six of them already."  
  
Tidus's face flushed to the color of Auron's coat, and he clenched his teeth in anger.  
  
"Whadaya want, Auron?!"  
  
"To let you know where your mother and I are sitting." He took out his ticket and looked at it. "East block on the second row, sixth and seventh seat."  
  
Tidus rolled his eyes. How would he see that from the sphere pool?!  
  
"Okay, I'll give you guys a wave. What are you really here for?!"  
  
"To congradulate you." Auron said seriously, putting his ticket away. "You did work hard to get this far. You know HE would be proud of you."  
  
"He?"  
  
"Jecht."  
  
"Oh, him." Tidus snorted. "He wouldn't care. He would just put me down, saying I kissed butts to get this far."  
  
"He would not."  
  
Tidus glared at Auron.  
  
"How would you know?"  
  
"He just doesn't sound like that kind of person."  
  
"Hmph. Whatever."  
  
"Well, best of luck to you. I should get to my seat."  
  
"Later."  
  
Before Auron walked away, he saw a glint on Tidus's neck.  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"That pendant. I've never seen it before."  
  
Tidus just crossed his arms.  
  
"Games in a few minutes. Better get that seat."  
  
Auron looked at Tidus a moment, then smiled.  
  
"Jecht gave it to you." he concluded. Tidus blinked, dumbfounded.  
  
"How did......."  
  
"If Jecht has anything to do with it, you won't talk about it."  
  
Tidus sighed.  
  
"He.......gave it to me, before he died. 'Don't say yer old man never gave ya anything' he said."  
  
Auron chuckled.  
  
"Sounds like him. Well, I should be going. Good luck, Tidus."  
  
"Huh." Tidus waved him off.  
  
He suddenly felt bad as Auron started walking away. Tidus never missed his father before. He just wished Jecht was there to see him for some reason.  
  
He just shook his head, then noticed a girl was coming. She waved at him, and he grinned.  
  
"Hey there, baby! One special Tidus autograph coming right up!"  
  
**********************  
  
The game was a success! 10-2, Abes taking the win!  
  
Tidus had the entire crowd cheering for him. And not because he was the son of Jecht!  
  
He was playing very well, none of the pressure got to him. He and the Abes were a fully functional team, working together and understanding hand signals as though they were close family. They were practically unstoppable.  
  
Speaking of unstopable, Tidus scored eight of those ten goals. Being the top scorer of the game, Tidus was awarded 1,000 gil. The team altogether won 10,000 for the game, and it all went to charity. Tidus and the new players were enjoying the limelight so far, and this was just the beginning.  
  
Auron felt so proud of Tidus, he couldn't stop smiling. He had watched that boy grow in nine years, and the boy did feel like his own son. They were far from the father/son relationship, it never showed.  
  
They were friends, that was all. But in someways, he felt they were more family than friends. Neither he nor Tidus would admit it.........  
  
'.....Jecht would be proud of both of us.....'  
  
********************  
  
A year had gone by, and the blitz season went well.  
  
Tidus was gaining more popularity with each game. He was becoming an invincible player, almost making every goal, and tackling the hardest than any player in Zanarkand. He was becoming famous for pushing opponants out of the sphere and into the audience.  
  
However, with wins came loses. One game, Tidus had hit the opposing goalie so hard with the ball, the goalie went unconcious and almost drowned. Not only was the game put on a long intermission, but the Abes lost five points for "goalie brutality." An argument followed after the game in the stands, saying that Tidus had used a Nap Shot and didn't just strike the goalie hard. Needless to say, the Abes lost that game. He didn't lose any fame over it, but he went home irritated and grouchy.  
  
The last thing he needed was Auron walking through the door, unnanounced. Tidus's mother had grown gravely sick, and Auron had been checking on her constantly. On Tidus's seventeenth birthday (a week ago), Auron had broke the news himself that she would die within the year. That had Tidus agitated enough, and it was showing in his game playing.  
  
It was also starting to break up his friendship with Auron.  
  
"What do you want?!" he growled as Auron stood in the doorway.  
  
"It was a bad call." Auron said. "Your team lost because of you."  
  
Tidus glared at him.  
  
"You came to say that?!"  
  
Auron looked at the boy over his sunglasses, almost lost in thought.  
  
"It's been ten years."  
  
"Huh." Tidus snorted as Auron walked into the house to check on Tidus's mother.  
  
"I thought you'd be crying."  
  
"Who, me?!" Tidus snapped at Auron's back. He didn't cry........  
  
You cried.  
  
A voice in Tidus's head just whispered into his ears. Tidus's shoulders slumped as he sat on the couch.  
  
Yeah, he cried. So what?  
  
And what did Auron mean by 'ten years?'  
  
Sure, he had been around for that long, but.........  
  
****************  
  
Auron was sitting on the houseboat deck by himself, watching the sun set into the western ocean. Tidus noticed him as he was going out to the karaoke bar to hang out with his team mates. Even though Auron's back was facing him, something about him seemed so sad.  
  
Tidus stood next to him.  
  
"Hey, what's up?"  
  
"Nothing." Auron insisted. He kept quiet, just watching the sun set. Tidus leaned against the railing, and stretched his arms out with a yawn.  
  
"Hey, Auron. It really has been ten years, hasn't it? Since we first met?"  
  
"Yes. Just about."  
  
"And you never talked about your home or anything. Don't you miss it?"  
  
"............"  
  
"Guess so." Tidus walked around a little, and ended up standing on the other side of Auron. "Hey, what's so fascinating about a sunset anyway? You can see it every day."  
  
"I don't get the chance to. And this may be my last chance to."  
  
"Huh?" Tidus leaned his head over to look Auron in the face.  
  
"It is very beautiful. I wish I had gotten to see this more often."  
  
Tidus suddenly witnessed hell freezing over. Auron took off his sunglasses, and wiped his face with one hand, sniffing.  
  
He was crying!  
  
"Whoa." Tidus bit his lip. "Auron, what's going on?"  
  
"Sorry." he moaned, putting his sunglasses back on. "I.........have no excuse."  
  
Tidus snatched the sunglasses from Auron and crossed his arms.  
  
"Hey, lookit me." Auron turned his head to Tidus, looking at him with only one eye. "Take it from me, you don't need an excuse to cry. If you wanna cry, cry. Why should you have a reason?!"  
  
Auron had to smile.  
  
"Words of wisdom from the professional?"  
  
"Hey, what was that supposed to mean?!"  
  
Auron laughed, turning away and wiping his face with his hand again.  
  
"Looking back, you have changed in some ways, and have remained the same in others."  
  
"Yeah?" Tidus asked, putting on Auron's sunglasses and picking up the blitzball on the deck.  
  
"You have become more responcible, laid back, and even picked up some leadership skills. On the other hand, you remain as stubborn, bratty, and very independant."  
  
"So?" Tidus snorted, juggling the ball on his knees.  
  
"I hear so much about your father..........some good, some bad..........I know you don't want to hear it, but you can be so much like him sometimes."  
  
"Feh." Tidus moaned. "Everyone wants me to be just like him, but I swear I'm not going to let that happen. He just makes me so mad."  
  
"I wish I could understand."  
  
"You wouldn't have liked him either." Tidus insisted, catching the blitzball and letting it drop to the ground. He took off the sunglasses and gave them back to Auron. "He's the kind of guys you want to kill and not feel guilty about it."  
  
Auron had a laugh.  
  
"I suppose."  
  
"Hey, I'm heading off into town. Need anything?"  
  
"If I did, I would get it myself."  
  
Tidus smiled as he started to walk off.  
  
"You changed and didn't change in some ways too, Auron." Tidus smirked. "But you mostly didn't change at all. You could have lightened up a little in the last ten years."  
  
Tidus headed down to the dock to go into town. But, as he walked on the exit plank.....  
  
THUNK!  
  
........the blitzball hit him just on the back of the head.  
  
"Hey!" He turned to Auron, seeing the man chuckling and pulling at the collar of his coat.  
  
"Now we're even."  
  
Tidus grinned at him, remembering the day they first met.  
  
"Oh yeah?" He picked up the ball and threw it back at Auron, hitting him in the side. Auron quickly retaliated, and threw the ball back at Tidus as soon as it touched his hand. Tidus caught it and threw it back at Auron, laughing.  
  
"I'll show you, old man!"  
  
"Let's see what the Abe's star player can do out of the water then!"  
  
It turned into a mini-dodgeball match. Tidus forgot all about the meeting with his friends, and ended up playing and talking with Auron all night.  
  
When Auron decided to take his leave and disapear into the city, Tidus called out his good byes.  
  
"See ya later, Auron! Hey, listen! Remember when I said I wished I had a dad like you?! I meant it! If I had to pick any man in Spira to be my new dad, it'd be you! I mean it, Auron!"  
  
Auron just raised a hand in farewell, and shook his head.  
  
'......and remember when I said you should never say things like that.......  
  
'.....I meant that too.  
  
'.....I'm not your father, Jecht is.  
  
'.....I could never be a father like him.'  
  
*****************  
  
Three months passed......  
  
The Jecht Memorial Cup......  
  
Tidus had hit his head hard in the fall, and had trouble remembering what exactly happened. He remembered he was going to pull off a Sphere Shot, then there were bright lights, and there were explosions........  
  
Now he heard rushing water, metal and rock falling, people screaming as they ran away.....  
  
He stumbled to his feet and managed to walk foreword. He ran along with the rest of the crowd down the stadium ramp, and then he saw a familiar red coat in the crowd. He ran to the man, surprised, scared and confused.  
  
"Auron! What are you doing here?!"  
  
"I was waiting for you." the man said, walking off.  
  
"What are you talking about?!" Tidus demanded, taking off after him. It didn't take long to lose the old man in the panicking crowd.  
  
How could he be so calm at a time like this?!  
  
********************  
  
This is it.  
  
This is your story.  
  
It all begins here. 


End file.
